Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Charlotte's office vacancy rate dipped 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, to 14.3 percent, according to real estate analysis firm Karnes. But within different markets, there is a huge variation.

Midtown has the lowest vacancy rate, at 7.5 percent. Uptown, the largest office submarket by far, has the third-lowest rate, at 11.2 percent.

But on the other end of the spectrum, the Park Road submarket had a vacancy rate of 23.3 percent, while east Charlotte's rate clocked in at 25.9 percent, the highest in the city. That means more than a quarter of the office space in that submarket is empty.

This article needs further depth to it. All this depends on the class of office space. I highly doubt East Charlotte is full of Class A as Ballantyne is probably almost 100% classes A and B. I bet Ballantyne Class A is much higher per square foot than in North Charlotte which would explain a lower vacancy rate in North Charlotte.

The Parkroad area could have a wide range of Class A and B and I bet the square footage rate is extremely high.

To me the article makes no sense unless you also look at the Class of office space vs. the square footage rate.

Park Road is an extremely long street--extending from Dilworth to Pineville. It runs through several sub-markets and contains various classes of office buildings. That statistic is pretty meaningless unless parsed for specifics.

Park Rd is a long road. And has always been mostly residential. The rent in the empty space is very expensive. I know, I rented space on Park Rd and Seneca in 1987 and paid $500 per month back then. That is one reason why. And some area's just need to stay Residential!

When we were looking for office space earlier this year, we were looking for a central location for a showroom, but it was difficult to find anything in an attractive part of town. Everything was either too small for our needs or too expensive.

Ely Portillo

Ely Portillo

About this blog

Ely Portillo covers economic development for the Observer, writing about who's building what in a city that seems to be sprouting new apartment and office towers on every corner. He also writes about Charlotte's airport, a major hub that's also undergoing a huge growth spurt. A transplant from Maryland, he's been reporting on his adopted hometown for more than five years. If you have a tip or story idea to share, you can contact him by email or give him a call at 704-358-5041. For the latest news, follow him on Twitter @ESPortillo.